Ipplepen: Roman Remains and Historic Buildings

Ipplepen offers several distinct historical and landscape features to consider when planning a trip. These include an archaeological find from 2012, a public open space with paths, and buildings and monuments from different periods. If you are looking for a hotel in Ipplepen, this selection can help you decide what to focus on during your stay: would you rather explore archaeological traces, architecture and commemorative heritage, or take a walk outdoors?

Archaeology and Landscape

At The Site, the pilot survey and the first field school season in 2012 uncovered a Roman road. The Roman find is therefore linked to a specific stage of archaeological work.

Orley Common is a public open space managed by Teignbridge District Council. It has a car park and an information board, with paths running through it. Of the topics presented here, Orley Common is the place explicitly described as suitable for a walk outdoors. Check local conditions before your trip.

Linear banks of earthworks are visible on a limestone plateau south of Dornafield Farm near Ipplepen. They are interpreted as possible remnants of a prehistoric or Romano-British field system. This cautious interpretation leaves both of the stated periods open, rather than assigning the site definitively to one era.

Monuments and Building History

Ipplepen War Memorial is a war memorial dating from 1920, incorporating a medieval market cross. It is Grade II listed. The same structure thus brings together a 20th-century commemorative function and a much older feature.

Dornafield is a late 15th-century farmhouse and is Grade II* listed. It has wings dating from the early and late 16th century. The same house therefore combines a late medieval date with two later building phases. To understand its building history, it is not just the age of the farmhouse that matters, but also the successive dates of its wings.

The Priory stands on the site of an Augustinian priory founded around 1143. The building is probably a remodelling of an older house dating from the mid-19th century. The information relates to different historical layers: around 1143 refers to the priory’s foundation, while the 19th-century date refers to the presumed remodelling of the house. This makes it possible to distinguish the history of the site from the building history of the house.

Planning Your Trip: Key Themes

The topics mentioned differ in what they draw attention to: Orley Common is associated with paths in a public open space, while The Site focuses on an archaeological find. The War Memorial, Dornafield and The Priory, by contrast, offer specific points of interest for building history, heritage protection and dating.

Discover more destinations: Yarcombe, Dalwood, Lifton, Holbeton, Croyde, North Bovey, Torrington, Exeter

For the broader travel overview: Devon.